Troy Tulowitzki went down and Marco Scutaro got traded, setting the stage for Josh Rutledge. If you don’t know who he is, he’s the dude in the Colorado Rockies uniform who is simply raking.
Rutledge went 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBI in last night’s win over the Dodgers. For the season -- 22 games worth since his promotion from Double-A Tulsa -- he’s hitting .356/.372/.700 with six homers, 18 RBI and three steals.
Rutledge, the Rockies third round pick in 2010, turned 23 in April. He raked to the tune of .348/.414/.517 at high-A last season, and in Double-A this year he hit .306/.338/.508 in 87 games, so while .350 is not sustainable, the guy does have some chops.
I don’t know what his defense is all about, but he’s not going to supplant Tulowitzki as the starting shortstop next season. But boy howdy, he’d make a nice companion at second base, yes?